Bahrain is targeting to increase the availability of hotel rooms in the kingdom to 20,000 by 2018, up from the current inventory of 17,000 rooms, it was revealed by a senior tourism official.
Bahrain continues to focus on building its identity as a leading tourist destination in the region as visitor numbers entering the kingdom grows each year, said Shaikh Khalid bin Humood Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority.
Speaking at a press conference at the Bahrain Internationa Exhibhition Centre earlier today, Shaikh Khalid unveiled the latest statistics following a survey conducted jointly between BETA and Informatics and eGovernment Authority, as well as plans to further promote the kingdom and all it has to offer.
New tourism projects worth close to BD2 billion are in the pipeline as Bahrain targets 15 million visitors a year by 2018, it was revealed.
Shaikh Khalid revealed that tenders would be invited soon at Bahrain's biggest public beach, Al Jazair, despite opposition from municipal councillors as part of a broader strategy to develop coastal facilities nationwide.
"Designs for Bahrain's biggest beach have been completed and plans are underway by Edamah, the government's real estate arm, to have an investment project there, which will be tendered soon."
Boasting ease of accessibility, accommodation choices and a variety of entertainment and leisure avenues, the kingdom reported an increase of over 1 million tourists visiting the kingdom between 2014 and 2015. "In 2015 we received around 11.6 million tourists while in 2014 we received 10.4 million visitors," he said.
Offering entry into the kingdom via the Bahrain International Airport and the King Fahad Causeway, Bahrain witnessed close to 9.6 million tourists enter the kingdom via the causeway (up 5.8 per cent from 2014) while the airport recorded around 1.8 million tourists coming (up 11.62 per cent from 14) to the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia (61 per cent) topped the list of tourist source markets, followed by other GCC countries (26 per cent) and Asia and other Arab countries (13 per cent).
The surge in visitor numbers led to an increase in hotel occupancy rates, which jumped from 50 per cent in 2014 to 52 per cent in 2015. Total hotel stays in Bahrain increased to 3.13 million in 2015 when compared to 2.09 million in 2014.
While 80 per cent of Bahrain's visitors entered from the causeway, 70 per cent of those were recorded as overnight guests while the remaining 30 per cent were one-day visitors.
Tourists visiting the kingdom via the airport accounted for a majority of overnight guests, with 92 per cent coming in as long-stay tourists, while the remaining 8 per cent were one-day visitors.
What brings tourists to Bahrain
Data presented by the Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority showed that the travel needs for visitors arriving through the causeway and airport differed greatly.
For instance, 50 per cent of the travellers coming through the causeway visited Bahrain for entertainment/leisure purpose, while 41 per cent of the arrivals via the airport were to visit family and friends.
Moreover, each segment's accommodation needs also differed, with causeway visitors (30 per cent) opting for hotel apartments and airport visitors (52 per cent) checking into hotels.
Upon further analysis, BTEA discovered that the average daily spend of tourists visiting via the causeway was BD110, with a majority (42 per cent) of the total expense going into shopping, accommodation (21 per cent) and entertainment (21 per cent).
On the other hand, the average daily spend of tourists visiting via the airport was only BD90, as their spending priorities differed. These vistors spent more on accommodation (33 per cent), followed by shopping (24 per cent) and food (15 per cent).
Goals
BTEA is focused on further promoting the kingdom as an ideal destination by attracting tourists from other parts of the world. In line with this vision, the authority has set up seven offices across the globe (London, Germany, China, France, India, Russia and GCC) to showcase its credentials as the perfect holiday destination.
Through these offices, BTEA hopes to attract 15 per cent more tourists year-on-year from these countries. - TradeArabia News Service
